Issue No. 609
Culture
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24 - 30 October 2002 Issue No. 609 Culture |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Plain Talk
Sawtul Sharq celebrated its 50th anniversary on 1 October 2002. On 1 October 1952, barely months after the Egyptian Revolution, the Indian Embassy published the first issue. The magazine, which described itself as "a cultural magazine whose message is to develop close links between India and the Arab world", is published in Arabic.
So much importance was given to it that the first issue contained a special message by India's prime minister at the time, Gawaher Lal Nehru. For 50 years now Sawtul Sharq has been true to its word, developing into a cultural institution encouraging close relations between our two countries. The special golden jubilee issue is testimony both to its growth and to the important link it fostered between Egypt and India.
A number of facts -- some unknown -- emerge from this issue. I wonder how many of us remember that Nehru visited Egypt in June 1953 and met with President Mohamed Naguib. The magazine publishes a number of photos of that meeting as well as the itinerary of the Indian prime minister, starting with his meeting with President Naguib, on day one, and ending with a reception at the embassy on day four. In between Nehru visited the Egyptian Museum and went on a Nile cruise to the barrages in the company of the president and members of the Revolutionary Council. He was invited to a dinner by the president, lunch at the Arab League and a press conference at the Journalists' Syndicate.
We also learn of the formation in March 1953 of an Egyptian/Indian Association. A reception was held at the Press Syndicate, attended by President Naguib as well the sheikh of Al- Azhar and the ambassadors of Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan.
Mohamed Hussein Heikal's speech on that occasion drew my attention -- an inspiring piece of literature. Heikal was one of Egypt's leading authors and thinkers. After tracing the relations between Egypt and India he spoke about the spiritual and cultural relations between two great civilisations. "The glittering rays of the sun which created light and warmth consist of the seven colours we see in the rainbow during the rain. The sun rises from the east to meet the world, and the great civilisations of the world also rose from the east. When their light was diminished for a while the world sank into oblivion. It is our duty to humanity to produce this rainbow so that the sun of civilisations would, again, shine from the east, and envelop the world."
There are also photos dating back to November 1961 of the three non-alignment leaders, Nehru, Tito and Nasser, in Cairo. During this visit I had the honour of meeting Nehru at the Indian Embassy at a reception attended by Nasser. There are also photographs of Indira Ghandi's visits to Egypt, with both Nasser and Sadat.
A section of this special issue is devoted to the Second Conference of the Afro- Asian Writers which convened in 1962 and in which India was represented by some of its leading writers, including Mulk Ray Anand and Sajad Zaheer. Delegates from 45 countries participated and, being one of the organisers of the conference, it fell upon me to translate.
This issue is a mixture of family album and archive. I was deeply impressed by the rare photos, in particular Dr and Mrs Taha Hussein meeting Nehru; Mustafa El- Nahhas Pasha meeting Fiaja Lakshmi, a great supporter of Arab causes, as well as by the articles by Abdel- Rahman Azzam Pasha, the first secretary-general of the Arab League, Abbas Mahmoud El-Aqqad, Salama Moussa, Hussein Heikal, Amina El-Said, Taha Hussein, Tewfik El-Hakim, Zaki Naguib Mahmoud and others.
This special issue of Sawtul Sharq is a unique and invaluable resource for anyone who wants to know how Indo- Egyptian relations have developed.
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